March 5, 2014EP review: ‘Hiding in the Light’ by Kimono Kult

Kimono Kult is the latest project of former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist and prolific solo artist John Frusciante and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, previously of The Mars Volta. The supergroup also includes Teri Gender Bender of Bosnian Rainbows, Dante White, Laena Geronimo and Nicole Turley (drummer and Frusciante’s wife.)

They have released their debut EP, ‘Hiding in the Light’, and it’s probably not what you would expect of two influential guitarists such as Rodriguez-Lopez and Frusciante; guitar is most definitely not a central element of the EP. It consists of four tracks of frenzy and chaos; one part electro, one part freak folk, and many parts avant-garde. The lyrics are also all in Spanish.

While it has good moments, such as the noisy, bass-driven “Todo Menos el Delor” (translated: “All But the Pain”) and comparatively subdued closing track “La Cancion de Alejandra”, but in the middle, it gets a bit stale. It gets to a point when the weirdness is less of a creative statement and more of a novelty, a plight which is fairly common in bodies of experimental music. It’s majorly unbalanced at times, which makes second and third tracks “Las Espojas” and “La Vida es una Caja Hermosa” less listenable and harder to enjoy.

Despite my liking ‘Todo Menos el Delor”, the EP leaves me unsatisfied and a little confused. It’s unmistakable that the group contains an incredible amount of talent, but I’m not sure it’s meshing well just quite yet.